Explicit Instruction (5 page)

‘Nowhere,’ he responded. ‘These are dangerous people
, Red. We don’t know what’s going to happen.’

‘You think they’ll hurt you? But they fear you.’

‘These are scumbags who’d shoot a man in the back. If they kill me then you’re on your own.’

He’d got her a
plan B. Apparently Rushe was a planner, he thought ahead. All Flick could hope was that she wouldn’t need any of it. For whatever reason he’d gone into town he had taken time out for her, to get her clothes and comforts, and prepared her for what could be the worst-case scenario.

‘I need to pee.
’

‘Come,
’ he said with a sideways nod.

Flick
scurried quickly from their bedroom into the bathroom, not taking the time to look at anyone. Rushe closed the door behind her and Flick knew he would stand guard again. Quickly finishing up her business, she stayed behind Rushe when going back to the bedroom as the noise level had increased.

Rushe kept her sheltered and followed her into the bedroom. ‘It’s rowdy out there,’ she said
, sitting on the bed.

‘They’
ve been drinking. It’s after midnight.’

‘Have
you been drinking?’

‘Implying?’ he asked
, pulling off his tee-shirt. ‘Lie down.’

Flick compl
ied, scooting into her corner. Rushe brought the cuffs to her and fastened her to the bedframe.

‘
I stayed here,’ she said. ‘All day I stayed. You told me to. I did what I was told.’

‘The cuffs are as much for your protection,’ he said
, flopping down onto the bed and turning off the lamp.

The men were getting louder and she appreciated that
Rushe stayed with her, though Flick knew it was as likely he was just tired than actually wanted to comfort her.

H
is breathing evened out but Flick knew he wasn’t asleep yet. ‘Rushe,’ she exhaled.

He rolled to his back
, perhaps to talk to her, or not. Last night she’d kept them apart, ensuring not to touch him. But tonight she set her head on his shoulder.

With consid
erable hesitation on his part, Rushe eventually curled his arm around her shoulders, and she snuggled closer into his body heat. Much as Rushe might have claimed not to be her ally, Flick felt safe here. Curled in close to his solid body, Flick became aware that even despite the situation she’d never felt safer, and with that awareness she descended into slumber again.

When Flick
awoke, she was on top of him as she had been the previous morning. Today, the position of her body on his was much lower. Her legs were between his and her feet were under his calves – she hadn’t put socks on last night, so undoubtedly her extremities had been seeking out heat.

Flick shuffled down
to press her cheek to his abdomen. The warmth of him gave her comfort, and the skin-to-skin human contact made her feel safe. This was a man who wouldn’t be beaten no matter the odds.

Letting her eyes close again
, she sighed out her breath and she realised that lump was there again. The solid line that had been against her abdomen yesterday was now nestled between her breasts.

Rushe slept in his jeans just as he had last night
, but tonight he’d loosened them so the hot ember of his ore gave her body a heat that didn’t stop at temperature. He was thick, as bold in size as the man was virile. There could be no mistaking his length as anything other than monstrous.

In her life she’d only been penetrated by one man
, but she’d got somewhat intimate with others, and never had she known a man could be so massive in anything other than fable. While his length was formidable, it was the girth of him that made her believe he couldn’t fit inside any average woman. Flick might not fear the man, but she did fear the organ. When he sucked in a long breath, she was lifted and the appendage seemed to expand further. Flick kept her eyes closed and braced to be cast aside again.

But after a score of seconds it hadn’t happened.
Then she got the shock of her life when his hand settled on her head and slid down her hair – he was stroking her. Though her hair carried on to almost her waist his hand stopped on her shoulder and he spread his fingers to let her hair slip between them.

Something in his touch was tentative
, which from such a strong man seemed foreign. But that only gelled more with that vulnerability she’d spied so briefly yesterday.

If Flick
stayed still, he might reveal more of himself, but letting him know that she was safe for him was important. If he knew she felt his softer side, welcomed his gentle curiosity, maybe he’d open up more for her. This was a man who was tough for a living, but he’d protected her, so he had to feel something for her. Or he at least had a decency somewhere inside.

Flick lifted her head to prop her chin on his abs
, but she kept her body in place. His eyes were on hers, and he didn’t move his hand, which she took as a good sign. When he pulsed in her cleavage he swelled further until Flick was sure he might burst.

She knew he wouldn’t feel
fear; he wouldn’t back down, because a man like him needed nerves of steel around the scum in his life. The men in this place feared him, but she didn’t, even under the scrutiny of his penetrating eye contact.

Nothing in his expression flinched
, and she could tell his stare was practised. Still locked in his gaze, Flick’s free hand drifted up to seek out his empty one. When she linked her fingers between his he didn’t respond, but he didn’t pull away either. They could have stayed there for hours, and knowing what lay outside this room Flick didn’t mind that idea.

His hand left her shoulder
, but tears pricked her eyes when he touched the top of her head and stroked down again. This was a conquering act, but whether it was her or a fear within himself that Rushe wanted to vanquish, she didn’t know.

The throbbing between her breasts intensified
, making her heart rate increase. She considered fulfilling her curiosity about that hard flesh in her cleavage, but Flick knew better than to bite off more than she could chew – figuratively speaking.

Without warning
, the door flew open. Instantly, Rushe had her off his body and back in the top corner of the bed where she was bound. His own body went to the end of the bed to block hers from any danger; again, he protected her.

But
Skeeve and Shiv in the door way couldn’t have cared less about her right now.

‘Boss is on the phone,’
Skeeve announced, then he and Shiv shuffled out.

Rushe turned on her long enough to unlock her
manacles. ‘Get washed,’ he grumbled and then he was out of the room.

Rushe left the
bedroom door open for her, and as Flick took her wrist out of the cuff she caught sight of Rushe crossing the outer room and then going straight out of the front door.

These m
en had to be in this location for a reason. Certainly Rushe wouldn’t consider them friends, as far as she could tell. Being subjected to men like Skeeve and his cohorts wasn’t something a man like Rushe would do willingly.

But being here, so out of the way, they had to be waiting for something, and it couldn’t be something good.

Doing what Rushe told her was in Flick’s best interest – he hadn’t steered her wrong yet. The only reason she was still alive at all was Rushe. Skeeve and Shiv hadn’t shown any interest, so she took the chance to sneak straight out of the bedroom and into the bathroom.

Just because she hadn’t seen anyone didn’t mean
that they weren’t there, so she went through her routine quickly. She got through everything and into her shower in record time. Knowing her guard wasn’t there washed away the ease she’d had yesterday with the ice-cold water that flowed over her.

Actually, t
he water was probably warmer today than it had been yesterday, but her shiver wouldn’t disperse. Flick turned off the spray and reached for the towel only to see it slide away from her to the other side of the curtain. Rushe would be unlikely to do that – to leave her here vulnerable and naked but the alternative didn’t bear thinking about.

‘Proble
m little girl? You can’t stay in there all day.’ And with a snigger her worst fear was confirmed.

Naked, cold, and with no way out
, when the curtain was snatched and rattled aside she could do nothing but stand there while Skeeve, Shiv, Glen, and the Kid examined her. All of them crowded into the small bathroom to ogle her. Flick’s skin prickled, and she wanted to close her eyes; she wanted to scream and run. But the thought of touching any of these men, even in the interest of self-preservation, repulsed her.

‘Lookie, lookie,’
Skeeve said clucking his tongue. ‘You must be a good little girl.’

‘There’s not a mark on her,’
Shiv said.

While Flick
knew there were bruises on her arms, she imagined if Rushe had truly been raping her she would be more banged up. But that wasn’t her concern now, not with Skeeve moving in closer.

‘
Glen’s first,’ Shiv drawled.

‘That’s right,’
Glen said sidling past Shiv.

Glen
was the heaviest of the four with a big potbelly, but from his baldhead to his worn out boots every inch of him disgusted her.

‘You don’t have to do this,’ she murmured
, hoping they would take heed. Except she knew in the gang mentality that showing them fear would only spur them on.

Skeeve
’s hand came up and squeezed around her breast. His hard, dirty fingers made her gag and bile leapt up into her throat. He sniggered again and increased his grip only to grab at her nipple with his other hand.

Closing her
eyes against the intrusion, Flick knew fighting wouldn’t help, but she couldn’t do nothing. Snatching the showerhead from its holder, she swung it at Skeeve’s skull, and by catching him off-guard she sent him to the floor. Flick jumped over him and barged through Shiv and Glen, which was an easier escape than she’d imagined. But when the Kid stepped out of her way Flick came up against the immovable object.

Tipping her chin Flick
looked up to see that she’d run into Rushe in the doorway. But he wasn’t looking at her, he was looking over her head at the men she’d run away from.

‘Get to bed,’ Rushe rumbled withou
t his lips moving.

T
hose eyes were the terrifying ones that she hoped would have the perpetrators thinking twice.

Flick
didn’t need to be told twice herself, so she slunk around Rushe and went straight into the bedroom.

Before she got her head into the tee
-shirt she’d snagged out of Rushe’s drawer she heard the clatter, then the thud. Shouting ensued, and though she couldn’t pick out individual voices she knew none of them was Rushe’s. After a few more shouts and bangs, an eerie silence descended over the place.

Tears soaked her cheeks
, and Flick gathered the pillow against her lap and into her embrace when she brought her knees up to her chin. This corner of the bed was where Rushe restrained her, but she wasn’t scared here. When the silence dragged on Flick began to worry for him, for Rushe, out there with the pack of hyenas.

Just as she was about to move the door flew open. It
ricocheted off the wall and careened back into its frame, making Flick jump. The whole room shuddered with the heat of his fury exploding around her.

‘What the fuck did you think you were doing?’ he seethed
, clenching and unclenching his fists at his side.

‘I—’

‘Never get naked unless I’m in the room! The only man allowed to see you bare is me! You belong to me!’

‘You told me to wash—‘

‘In the sink! Get up!’

‘Wha—’

‘Get up!’

So often Rushe
told her to get on the bed, he’d never told her to get off it before. But she stumbled to her feet nonetheless.

‘Do you like it rough? Is that what gets you off?’

With one stride Rushe got hold of her and lifted her off her feet to thrust her against the wall.

‘You enjoy that? You want me to force you? Is that it?’

‘No,’ she squeaked, knowing her tears were in free flow right now.

With another
jolt, he backed off, leaving her to fall to the floor. ‘Get up!’

W
alking her hands up the wall, Flick took her shuddering body upright using the support of the structure.

‘Take off the tee-shirt,’ he said baring his teeth.

‘Wha... What?’

‘Take. It. Off.’

Rushe had always turned his back to give her privacy, but the huffing predator looming over her now was in no mood to be reasonable.

‘Bu—‘

‘Now!’